URLs du Jour

2006-07-13

First, check out Shawn
on the Big Dig. In related news, Mrs. Salad has forbidden me to
use the tunnels to get to Logan Airport. She's apparently convinced that
driving through Saugus and Revere is less
risky, even though my cardiologist might disagree.

Bruce Schneier has an interesting post
on an alleged large overlap between identity thieves and methamphetamine
users:

Supposedly meth users are ideally suited to be computer hackers[.]

… and hence (again, supposedly) use their hacking skills
for ID theft, to get more money, so they can buy more meth.
Good plan!
Schneier points to a New York Timesarticle
which quotes one Richard Rawson, a UCLA researcher:

"Crack users and heroin users are so disorganized and get in these
frantic binges, they're not going to sit still and do anything in an
organized way for very long," Dr. Rawson said. "Meth users, on
the other hand, that's all they have, is time. The drug stimulates
the part of the brain that perseverates on things. So you get people
perseverating on things, and if you sit down at a computer terminal you
can go for hours and hours."

I'm, like, totally out of the illicit drug scene, man, but:

As a low-grade hacker (in this sense) myself, it's kind of frightening
to think there's something out there that could enhance
my productivity and probably wreck my life.
Hmmm … well, don't tell my managers about it,
they'll probably go out and get me some.

Highfalutin UCLA researchers say "perseverate" when they could
have just said "persevere." It's like saying "utilize" instead
of "use." Sheesh.

The solution is to put more consumer pressure on higher education by
getting government out of the business of paying for it. Competition
made America's colleges and universities the best in the world, not
government subsidies. Increasing the government's role in higher
education will devolve our institutions of higher learning into
something akin to the public schools.

OK, that's kind of an eat-your-peas topic, but
along the way, Radley eviscerates CBS News, a couple of whiny
self-indulgent yuppies, and (most especially) the tedious Ms. Anya Kamenetz.
So it's both (a) good, and (b) good for you.

Yeah … I think I saw a similar scene in a vampire movie once.
Or was it Jaws?

Disclaimers:
Unquoted opinions expressed herein are solely those of the
blogger.

Pun Salad is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates
Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a
means for the blogger to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.